How to avoid hospitality job scams
Job scamming is becoming big business. Financially speaking, times are tough and unemployment is high. Job scammers prey on people looking for work, especially those pursuing overseas positions. For a graduate, finding a first-time hospitality job is ‘eventful’ enough without the worry of being swindled!
How do job scams work?
Job scammers pose as recruiters and HR departments. They promise you a wonderful job with a great salary and lots of perks. In the hospitality environment they like to arrange international jobs that require you to provide all your personal details and apply for documents like visas. They then charge you for administration related to visas, plane flights and other documentation.
How can I protect myself?
Online scammers are practiced con artists, but going through reputable recruitment agencies and arming yourself with knowledge about how job scams work will keep your money safe and help you find the position you’re looking for! Here are seven job scam signs to look out for.
7 signs it’s a job scam
1. Unusually high salary
Do your research before you start job hunting. What is the common salary range for someone with your skills and experience? What is the going rate for the kind of position you’re aiming for? If you’re offered a salary way above the normal range, it’s likely to be a scam.
2. Excessive perks and promises
Depending on your position, jobs may come with perks such as medical aid, a company car or extra leave days. What kinds of perks are standard for your position? If a hotel is promising excessive additional perks, tread very carefully.
3. The property is not online
If a recruiter or employer offers you a position for a property you can’t find online, it’s probably best to walk away. All reputable hospitality properties, especially 5* hotels, have an online footprint. Look for a company website, listings on Google Maps, reviews on TripAdvisor, articles on travel sites and photos on blogs. Also check social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr for information on the property in question.
4. A real property but a free or unrelated email address
Scammers are smart but sometimes ruin their own game with giveaway mistakes. Fake recruiters often pose as HR staff from well-known hotel chains, using the real names of hotel employees and pictures from the hotel’s website to make communications seem authentic. Make sure you check the recruiter’s email address. Free or unrelated email addresses are an easy way to tell it’s a scam.
5. They want you to pay money for visas, flights or administration
A bona fide recruiter or employer will never demand money from you. Be careful when applying for overseas hospitality jobs. Illegitimate recruitment agencies are notorious for requiring payment for bogus tasks like processing visas, arranging flights or paying administration fees.
6. You don’t need to send in your CV
Beware of any recruiter or HR department that doesn’t want to see your CV. Employers hire candidates for their skills and experience.
7. Emails from people who’ve magically heard of you
Email is a favourite tool of scammers. If you receive an email from a recruiter/ employer who’s mysteriously heard you’re looking for hospitality work, it’s likely to be a scam. Also check the email address as it will show you whether or not the message is from a reliable source.
Professional advice
Jeff Ross, Managing Director of Hospitality Graduate Recruitment (h-g-r), has this to say about hospitality job scams:
Whilst there are undoubted benefits in the role that technology plays in the modern recruitment era, there are some risks which accompany this. Job scams is one such pitfall, and sadly we have seen an increasing number of scams out there in the last 12 months. The most common one presently is that where an internet user pretends to be a recruiter, offering a well paid role in an attractive location (UK seems to be the main focus), and sending a contract by email. Later down the line they will ask the applicant for money to cover the visa fee for working in the UK. Most candidates are savvy enough to know that this is a scam, but it is not always so easy to tell. Here are a few tips from HGR to help applicants make the best judgement:
- If you receive communication out of the blue from an employer directly, it is highly likely that it is a scam, unless they make reference to where they might have accessed your cv legitimately
- Always run a search engine on the name of a potential employer to double check legitimacy – the names being used by the recent scams were fake hotels with ‘real-sounding’ names
- If you are ever being asked to pay money from a recruiter or employer, then fully research this and ask for references from other candidates that have done the same previously
- Err on the side of caution in general, and trust your instinct. Never be afraid to ask for a second opinion”
The light at the end of the tunnel
The world of hospitality is full of exciting job prospects for you. Keep your identity, money and personal details safe while job-hunting by using your common sense and going through reputable recruitment agencies. They’ll help you find the job you’re looking for!
Depending on your position, jobs may come with perks such as medical aid, a company car or extra leave days. What kinds of perks are standard for your position? If a hotel is promising excessive additional perks, tread very carefully.
3. The property is not online
If a recruiter or employer offers you a position for a property you can’t find online, it’s probably best to walk away. All reputable hospitality properties, especially 5* hotels, have an online footprint. Look for a company website, listings on Google Maps, reviews on TripAdvisor, articles on travel sites and photos on blogs. Also check social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr for information on the property in question.
4. A real property but a free or unrelated email address
Scammers are smart but sometimes ruin their own game with giveaway mistakes. Fake recruiters often pose as HR staff from well-known hotel chains, using the real names of hotel employees and pictures from the hotel’s website to make communications seem authentic. Make sure you check the recruiter’s email address. Free or unrelated email addresses are an easy way to tell it’s a scam.
5. They want you to pay money for visas, flights or administration
A bona fide recruiter or employer will never demand money from you. Be careful when applying for overseas hospitality jobs. Illegitimate recruitment agencies are notorious for requiring payment for bogus tasks like processing visas, arranging flights or paying administration fees.
6. You don’t need to send in your CV
Beware of any recruiter or HR department that doesn’t want to see your CV. Employers hire candidates for their skills and experience.
7. Emails from people who’ve magically heard of you
Email is a favourite tool of scammers. If you receive an email from a recruiter/ employer who’s mysteriously heard you’re looking for hospitality work, it’s likely to be a scam. Also check the email address as it will show you whether or not the message is from a reliable source.
Professional advice
Jeff Ross, Managing Director of Hospitality Graduate Recruitment (h-g-r), has this to say about hospitality job scams:
Whilst there are undoubted benefits in the role that technology plays in the modern recruitment era, there are some risks which accompany this. Job scams is one such pitfall, and sadly we have seen an increasing number of scams out there in the last 12 months. The most common one presently is that where an internet user pretends to be a recruiter, offering a well paid role in an attractive location (UK seems to be the main focus), and sending a contract by email. Later down the line they will ask the applicant for money to cover the visa fee for working in the UK. Most candidates are savvy enough to know that this is a scam, but it is not always so easy to tell. Here are a few tips from HGR to help applicants make the best judgement:
- If you receive communication out of the blue from an employer directly, it is highly likely that it is a scam, unless they make reference to where they might have accessed your cv legitimately
- Always run a search engine on the name of a potential employer to double check legitimacy – the names being used by the recent scams were fake hotels with ‘real-sounding’ names
- If you are ever being asked to pay money from a recruiter or employer, then fully research this and ask for references from other candidates that have done the same previously
- Err on the side of caution in general, and trust your instinct. Never be afraid to ask for a second opinion”
The light at the end of the tunnel
The world of hospitality is full of exciting job prospects for you. Keep your identity, money and personal details safe while job-hunting by using your common sense and going through reputable recruitment agencies. They’ll help you find the job you’re looking for!
